Michelle Kullmann is former publisher of BRAVA Magazine and started Women to Watch in 2012. After her son, Cade, tragically passed away from fentanyl poisoning in November 2021, Kullmann has focused her efforts on the fentanyl epidemic, speaking with politicians, the media and at public events. She also testified at a state Senate hearing about decriminalizing fentanyl test strips (which passed).
“I want to continue to focus my efforts [on] educating adolescents that fentanyl is now in all street drugs and that experimenting with drugs for the first time is like playing Russian Roulette … it’s just not worth the risk. These kids need to be educated on better coping mechanisms for their personal wellbeing, and how to walk away from peer pressure,” says Kullmann.
In January 2022, she met with interim UW System president Tommy Thompson to request a mandate for all UW campuses that Narcan rescue kits be installed in UW residence halls, and that drug and alcohol education be updated to include information on the dangers of fentanyl. In March 2022, Thompson sent a memo to all UW chancellors urging them to install Narcan rescue kits and institute a fentanyl awareness campaign on UW System campuses. Kullmann says that UW-Madison, UW-Eau Claire and UW-Milwaukee are in the process of moving forward with the installation of Narcan rescue kits in their residence halls. (UW-Oshkosh had already installed Narcan rescue kits in their residence halls last fall, and Kullmann says they are being used as the model for this effort).
